Pakistani pacer Shaheen Afridi needs just one more wicket in his upcoming two matches to break the 26 year old national record.
With 99 wickets in 50 matches at an average of 23.28, Shaheen Afridi could become the fastest Pakistani player to reach 100 wickets in One Day Internationals (ODIs). This would surpass the record currently held by Seqlain Mushtaq, who achieved this milestone in 53 matches. To break Seqlain's record, Shaheen would need to secure one wicket in his next two matches.
Previously, Shaheen Afridi, who is just 23 years old, overtook former bowler Mohammad Amir and, after Wasim Akram, became the Pakistani left-arm pacer with the most international wickets.
On October 20, the young pacer achieved this feat during the 18th match of the World Cup against Australia in Bangalore. Before the match against Australia, Shaheen Afridi had 259 wickets to his name, equaling Amir. He took the first two wickets in that match and officially overtook the 31-year-old Mohammad Amir.
Currently, he is only behind legendary Wasim Akram in terms of wickets taken by left-arm bowlers for Green Shirts, with a total of 264 international wickets. Shaheen Afridi has now taken 268 international wickets in 129 matches (147 innings), while Amir achieved 259 wickets in 147 matches (177 innings). Wasim Akram took an incredible 916 wickets with his magical left arm in 460 matches (532 innings).
During the 2019 tournament, Shaheen Afridi achieved his best figures of 6/35 against Bangladesh, making him one of only two Pakistani players to take five or more wickets in World Cup cricket after Shahid Afridi.